MIAMI, United States. – This Tuesday, the Cuban regime held the trial against the young Cuban activist Sulmira Martínez Pérez, 22, accused of inciting violence and promoting a social outbreak through publications on social networks. The judicial process took place under intense surveillance by State Security agents, according to the report of Cuban newspaper.
In statements to that medium, Norma Pérez, Sulmira’s mother, commented: “If it was up to the prosecutor, they would have asked for a life sentence, but the lawyer made a good defense (…). My mother’s intuition tells me that it will turn out well,” Pérez added, although he acknowledged the political pressure surrounding the case.
The court was surrounded by a large deployment of political police, with agents present both inside and outside the courtroom. “Inside the premises, only us, three family members, the rest of the personnel there were from State Security,” Pérez told Martí News.
At the end of the hearing, Pérez was not able to say goodbye to his daughter, who was taken back to prison under strict custody. “Inside the car were about four security personnel who were taking Sulmira, and she went straight back to the prison,” he said. “He turns 23 on December 2.”
This was the third time that the regime planned the trial against the activist. Previously, in August and September, the authorities suspended the hearings that had been scheduled: the first time without giving explanations and the second at Sulmira’s request, because her lawyer was hospitalized.
Detained since January 2023, Sulmira Martínez was accused of instigating Cubans to protest against the Government. The Prosecutor’s Office alleges that he collected bottles to make Molotov cocktails with the aim of attacking the Las Guásimas store. However, during the search of his home, no such bottles were found.
The accusations focus mainly on his publications on social networks, where he called on the population to raise their voices against the Cuban regime and criticized its ineffectiveness. Despite having no criminal record, the Prosecutor’s Office requested a precautionary measure of provisional detention and requests a sentence of 10 years in prison.
According to Sulmira’s mother, the defense attorney refuted the accusations, emphasizing the absence of evidence to support the charges of violence. “The bottles that he had supposedly collected were never confiscated in the search carried out at his house,” he said. He also denied that his daughter was preparing posters for a demonstration.
According to the Court, the sentence against Sulmira will be delivered within 30 days.
In April 2023, Sulmira was featured on the National Television News making a self-incrimination that, according to her mother, was obtained “under pressure.”
In June of the same year, the young woman’s mother denounced publicly that she was depressed in prison due to the hostile treatment received by the authorities and feared that her situation could lead her to make an attempt on her life.
Lawyer Giselle Morfi, from the Cubalex Legal Information Center, has pointed out the multiple violations of rights in the young woman’s case, including arbitrary detention, lack of a fair trial, violation of privacy and torture.
